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Mediterranean cruises from Southampton: why they take two weeks and what you see

A Mediterranean cruise from Southampton usually takes 14 nights, because the first Mediterranean port comes on day 6 and the trip home takes four or five days. That leaves five to seven sea days and usually four or five days in Mediterranean ports. Fares for 14 nights started at US$1,249 per person on 2 November 2026.

By Andrew Budai · Last checked · Rates and opening hours change, so confirm before you travel.

Most Mediterranean cruises from Southampton last 14 nights, because the ship has to go round Spain and Portugal first. On nearly every round trip the first port inside the Mediterranean comes on day 6, and the run home from the last one takes four or five days. Two weeks away usually buys you four or five days in Mediterranean ports.

The schedule lists 48 sailings in this group, and 20 of them last 14 nights. Fares are starting fares per person in US dollars with taxes and fees included, from a booking partner that sells to North American buyers, read 2 November 2026. The line or a UK agent may quote you something different.

P&O Cruises and Fred. Olsen also sail to the Mediterranean from Southampton, but their fares are not on this site. Every sailing we can price is in the table at the end of this guide, and our Mediterranean page lists them by date.

Why do Mediterranean cruises from Southampton take two weeks?

Because the distance round Spain and Portugal uses up the first five days. The ship has to cross the Bay of Biscay, follow the Atlantic coast and pass Gibraltar before it reaches a Mediterranean port, and then it has to do all that again to get home.

Sky Princess on 29 March 2027 shows the pattern. It leaves Southampton on a Monday, spends two days at sea and calls at Cadiz on Thursday. After another sea day it reaches Barcelona on Saturday, which is day 6. Then come Toulon, Livorno, Civitavecchia and Ajaccio, followed by four sea days back to Southampton on 12 April.

Ship and departureFirst Mediterranean portDays in Mediterranean portsFull sea days
Sky Princess, 29 March 2027Barcelona, day 657
Queen Anne, 7 April 2027Barcelona, day 647
Queen Victoria, 28 May 2027Tarragona, day 647
MSC Meraviglia, 24 July 2027Malaga, day 645
Celebrity Apex, 11 September 2027Cagliari, day 656
Queen Mary 2, 31 March 2028Barcelona, day 647

All six last 14 nights. We count Cadiz, Gibraltar and Tangier as outside the Mediterranean, and the days come from the itineraries Cruisebound shows.

How many sea days does a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton have?

A 14-night Mediterranean cruise has five to seven full sea days, so on most of them about half the days have no port. Sky Princess, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 mostly have seven. MSC Meraviglia has five, because it stops in northern Spain on the way. Fred. Olsen's Bolette lists eight sea days on its 16 nights from 18 November 2027.

If you enjoy days on board, that is a good deal. If the Mediterranean is the point, count the port days before you pay for two weeks. The Bay of Biscay is on both legs, and our first-time cruiser guide covers what that means in winter.

Which ports do 12 and 14 night Mediterranean cruises reach?

Fourteen nights reaches the western Mediterranean as far as Rome. Twelve nights usually does not get into the Mediterranean at all, and Greece, Croatia and Turkey take 19 nights or more on a round trip.

LengthWhat it reachesShips
9 nights, round tripBrest, Lisbon, Gibraltar or Tangier, Malaga and Cadiz. Malaga is the only Mediterranean portMSC Meraviglia, August 2027, August and October 2028
12 nights, round tripLisbon, Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Cadiz on one sailing from 3 December 2027Queen Victoria
14 nights, round tripBarcelona, Toulon, Livorno, Civitavecchia and Ajaccio or SardiniaSky Princess
14 nights, round tripTarragona, Santa Margherita, Marseille, Malaga, Palma or Valencia, depending on the dateQueen Victoria
14 nights, round tripMalaga, Alicante, Ibiza and TarragonaMSC Meraviglia, July 2027 and July 2028
15 to 18 nights, round tripThe same area plus Palermo, Naples, Messina or La GouletteRegal Princess, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Anne, Queen Victoria
19 to 31 nights, round tripCorfu, Dubrovnik, Split, Valletta, Mykonos, Piraeus, and Istanbul on the longestQueen Victoria, Sky Princess

Most other 12-night sailings from Southampton turn off at Portugal for Madeira and the Canaries and never pass Gibraltar. Check the ports on any sailing in the table at the end, because one that stops only at Lisbon, Funchal, Tenerife and Lanzarote is not a Mediterranean cruise.

Listings often show Cadiz as Seville, the city most people visit from it. On a big ship, expect the port at Cadiz on the Atlantic and a trip inland.

Sky Princess's 14 nights from 24 July 2027 list "Total Solar Eclipse 2027" as a day on the itinerary, on 2 August, between Cartagena and Cadiz.

Which lines and ships sail to the Mediterranean from Southampton?

Cunard has the most Mediterranean sailings on our schedule.

LineShipsWhat it sails
CunardQueen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Anne, Queen Mary 212 to 23 nights round trip, and Queen Elizabeth's one-way voyages each May to Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Istanbul or Trieste
PrincessSky Princess, Regal Princess14 nights, 15 on Regal Princess in April 2027, and 31 on Sky Princess in September 2027
MSCMSC Meraviglia9 and 14 nights in July, August and October
CelebrityCelebrity Apex, Celebrity BeyondOne 14-night sailing each September, 2027 on Apex and 2028 on Beyond
Regent, Oceania, ExploraSeven Seas Mariner, Oceania Sonata, Explora IVLong one-way voyages of 14 to 36 nights
P&O CruisesArvia14-night round trips from May to September 2027. Fares not on this site
Fred. OlsenBolette16 nights from 18 November 2027, calling at Barcelona, Ajaccio and Civitavecchia. Fares not on this site

P&O and Fred. Olsen ships appear on the calendar once ABP publishes them.

Which months do Mediterranean cruises leave Southampton?

May and September have the most Mediterranean sailings on our schedule, and July and August come next. The first of the year leave in March.

No Mediterranean sailing on our schedule leaves in June or January. Many of these ships are on Norway sailings in June. P&O's Arvia does sail then, with departures on 6 and 20 June 2027. Winter sailings are few, and most ships heading south from November to February go to Madeira and the Canaries instead. Our season guide shows what sails each month.

Should I sail from Southampton or fly to Barcelona or Rome?

It comes down to time. Flying gets you more Mediterranean days for the same holiday, and sailing from Southampton gets you there with no airport. Both P&O and Fred. Olsen say fly-cruises mean fewer sea days. We list only sailings that leave Southampton, so a ship you join in Barcelona or Civitavecchia is not on this site.

CompareSail from SouthamptonFly out and join a ship
Time awayAbout 14 nightsOften 7 to 10 nights. P&O and Fred. Olsen both sell these
Days in Mediterranean portsUsually 4 or 5More for each night away, because the cruise starts there
Sea days5 to 7 on 14 nightsFewer. P&O says you skip the sail from Southampton
Getting thereCar, train or coach to the portA flight, then a transfer. Civitavecchia is 60 km from Rome on the port authority's page
LuggageNo airline limits, as our no-fly guide explainsThe airline's limits apply
Border checksEES usually does not apply on a UK round tripYou may have to complete EES at your first point of entry
Costs on top of the fareParking or rail faresFlights, transfers and perhaps a hotel, unless the line packages them

A one-way sailing is the third choice, where you sail out from Southampton and fly home:

  • To Barcelona. Queen Elizabeth, 12 nights from 2 May 2027, and Explora IV, 14 nights in October 2028.
  • To Civitavecchia. Queen Elizabeth, 8 nights from 18 May 2028.

Those drop the sea days on the way back, though you still spend the first five days getting there. The cruise documents guide explains how EES works if you leave a ship inside Schengen.

How much does a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton cost?

On 2 November 2026, 14-night fares in this group ran from US$1,249 to US$5,123 per person, with the lowest working out at US$89 a night. A cheap fare on a two-week trip can still cost a lot, because costs charged by the day double against a 7-night cruise.

Daily gratuities on the dollar lines are the main one, and our first-time cruiser guide sets them out. Port parking is the other, so price 14 nights in our parking guide if you are driving down.

What documents do I need for a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton?

Ports in Spain, France, Italy and Greece fall under the Schengen passport rule. Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia do not, so a call there takes the cruise out of Schengen, and some lines then ask for 6 months on your passport. Our documents guide has the rule for each itinerary and each line.

Sources

Cruises from Southampton to the Mediterranean

From the schedule on this site, rebuilt every day.